Reenforced denture



-v -3 'l ETREAuLT 3 REENFORCED DENTURE Filed Feb. 12, 1929 gwuentow JR jireaalil 30 mal process of mastication.

Patented. Nov.11s, 1930 h nEENroRoED DENTURE Application filed February 12, 1929. Serial no. 339,481.

' This invention relates to the class of dentistry and pertains particularly to improvements in the construction of dentures. V

The'primary object of this invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a 'means for improvingthe construction of dentures, more particularly those" formed of vulcanizedrubber or similar material whereby the same may-be produced of lighter weight'and thinner loody construction, and at the same time of greater strength than the Vulcanized rubber dentures "of the type at present" in use.

' As is well knowm in the manufacture of 1 a consideration of the following detailed dedentures at the present time vulcanized rubber,celluloid, bakelite and other phenol-resin products are extensively employed, first, be- ;cause of the cheapness as compared with dentures constructed of metal such asgold, plati- :num iand alumium' and second, because of thefactcthat these materials are more easily worked up to properly conform to thesur face of apatients mouth.

While the hard rubber-and other products mentioned have certain advantages over metal, they have the disadvantagesthat they are extremely brittle and musttherefore be made of extra heavy construction to-withstand thestrains placed thereon in the nor- I The present invent'on aims to overcome the difficulties at present; encountered in the use of hard rubber, etc., for dental plates bythe provision of an especiallyconstructed reen- '85 forcing wire whi'chis designed; to 'befmolded into and about the edge ofthe material from which the dentureis constructed, to give to the denture greater strength and resistance againstthe formation of cracks or breaks re- 40 sultingfrom the strains placed thereon and .to permit of the-lighter construction of the denture. 1 I am, of course, aware that reenforcing has -been used heretofore in the body of dentures but this reenforcing is such that the reduction of the ithickness of the body is limited andwat the same time it doesnot prevent the denture from cracking along the edges.

\ Another object of the-present invention is to provide in addition to means for reenforcany strict conformity with the ing the edge of a denture, means whereby dentures employing clasps may be more strongly or ruggedlyconstructed to prevent their splitting, by the elimination of the usual pin carried by the clasp and ordinarily imbedded in the body of the denture. This anchoring pm of denture clasps frequently causes the denture tov split whereas with the present 'reenforcing means no part of the clasp extends into the. body of the denture to provide a means whereby strain might be placed thereon and effect the breaking of the denture. e s

The invention will be bestunderstood from scription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to showing of the drawing but may be changedor modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention pended claims. r

In thedrawingx- Figure l is afview' of theunder face of a denture; reenforced in accordance withjthe present invention; i r

.Figure 2 is atransverse sectional View of the denture shown in Figure 1, taken upon the line 2-2 of thisfigure; 1 s

Figure 3 is a detailed View of a portion of the ;reenforcingwire. structure embodying the'present invention;

. Figure 4 isa viewshowing the application of the reenforcing wire to a clasp designedto maintain thedenturein position. 1

. Referring to the drawing in detail wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several .Views, there is shown in Figure l a denture for use in the upper part of themouth, the same being indicated by the numeral 1. This denture is shown as of the type having a palatal portion or plate2 for maintaining artificialteeth in position at opposite sides of the jaw and carrying teeth engaging resilient clasps. 3 for maintaining the denture inposition instead of employing suction.

as expressed in the ap- IIL.

The free edges of this denture are reenforced by the structure embodying the preslery wire portion 6 may be stamped from suit-- able material integrally With the base wire 5 or may be provided as a separate unit and applied thereto, in which case the side of the base wire 5 is flattenedslightly to facilitate the proper securing of the gallery wire thereto. i

As clearly shown in Figure 1,the'reenforcing wire structure 4 is so molded in and'along the edges of the denture that the base portion 5 will be exposed and form a border thereabout, whereas thematerial of which the denture is formed will flow into the recesses of the gallery wire and securely bond the reenforcing wire to the body of the denture.

As is shown in Figure 1 and indicated at points 7, the reenforcing wire may be soldered I directly to the prongs of the clasp adjacent which its ends are positioned, thus further strengthening the denture by relieving the body thereof of a great deal of the strain normally imposed thereon by the clamps during mastication.

' fAs shown in Figure 4, the present wire structure may also be 'advantageouslyemployed in connection with denture claspsto replace the usual anchoring pins of clasps which are imbedded in the body of the. denture. In this View, a small denture is shown 4 as indicated by the numeral 8 and is provided atone end with the usual type of clasp 9, employing the anchoring'pin 10 which eX tends into the body of vulcanized rubber or other material of which the denture maybe constructed. At the other-end of this denture is shown a clasp 11 constructed of the reenforcing material embodying the present invention, that portion of the body of the clasp contacting with the denture body, being provided with a section of gallery wire here indicated by the numeral 12 which is securely imbedded in the material of the denture and bondsor secures the clasp 11 thereto. It is,

of course, clear that this denture 8, which for the effect of clearness has been shown without the addition thereto of artificial teeth, ma be reenforced along its edges by the reen orcing material land the ends of the reenforcing strips may be soldered to the Clasps of the denture to further brace the same.

This method of constructing the denture substantially amounts to the provision of an elongated frame having a clasp at each end and filled in with a suitable material, such as vulcanized rubber or the like, in which the artificial teeth are imbedded.

From the foregoing description it will be readily apparent that dentures, particularly those of the type shown in Figure-.1 where twisting strains are placed thereon during their use, constructed or reenforced with the bordering wire of the character herein described, may be very lightly molded without sacrificingstrength, in fact, the strength of the denture as a whole is greatly increased by bordering the samewi-th the wire 4:.

While the present description has been confined to dentures of the type employing clasps for retaining them in position and a denture designed to fit across the roof of the mouth, it is, of course, to be understoodthat I, do not wish to be limited in any manner to the use ofthe strengthening wire to denturesof these forms for it is apparent that the same-maybe as advantageously used in other types. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is':

1. A reenforced denture, comprising a body of composition material, a resilient wire outlining certain edges. of the body, and means forming a part of the'wire designed to. be imbedded in the material to :bond the wire thereto.

2. A reenforcing lightweight denture, comprising a tooth carrying body of composition material, a resilient reenforcing wire bounding. certain edges of the material, and a filigree structure formed along said reen forcing wire and designed to be imbedded in the denture composition to bond the wire thereto.

3. In a denture of composition material having retaining clasps, a reenforcing resi ient element outlining certain edges of the denture and having the ends thereof secured to the Clasps.

4. A reenforced denture, comprising a body of composition material, a resilient wire outlining certain edges of the body, and a relatively narrow body of filigree material secured along the inner edge of said wire and embedded in the composition material.

5. A resilient reenforcing material "for dentures, comprising a solid wire like body and a relatively narrow body of filigree material secured to the wire like body and of a thickness substantially equal to the diameter thereof.

6. A resilient reenforcing wire for bordering the edges of dentures comprising a solid wire like portion and an. attached wire like portion of filigree or grilled design, said latter portion being in thickness substantially equal to the first mentioned portion.

7. A reenforcing bordering wire of a resilient character for dentures, comprising .a 

